As an HR professional, I'm often asked to fill highly technical positions with work duties and specific skills that are extremely intensive and unique.
Have you ever been tasked with hiring a position for which you didn't have a firm grasp of the required duties and critical job functions? I'm sure many HR professionals have been in this situation. The key to making the right hire is using your technical team for support in the hiring process. Remember that you are a trained HR professional, and your technical personnel often are not. It is important to remember that you have the training and skills necessary to assist your technical personnel in evaluating the candidate, even if you do not have a full grasp of the duties of the job. To successfully fill the position, combine your strengths with the strengths of your technical personnel.
HR professionals can easily compare résumés to the job description, check references and pre-screen candidates using scripted questions. Unfortunately, we may also receive scripted answers. When hiring for highly technical positions, good candidates will be prepared for these questions and typically have experienced the same interview process many times before. Most candidates will be prepared for the initial interview and should knock it out of the park. It's at this point that using different strategies will help you hire the right person.
To find the best candidate, consider getting creative, challenging the candidate and allowing your technical personnel to participate. I often start by scheduling a group interview with myself, the candidate, and one or more technical professionals whom I trust. I have the candidate report to my office first, but schedule the interview for the conference room. Typically, I'll brief the candidate about who will be participating in the interview and answer any general questions they may have regarding the job, the personnel who will participate in the interview, etc. From there, I walk the candidate to the interview room. Try to have the technical personnel who will participate in the interview walk with you, if possible.
Use the walk to evaluate the candidate. Show them around, and see how they react to situations outside of the formal interview setting. For example, introduce them to other team members and pay attention to how they interact with the people they encounter. This serves as an opportunity for your technical interviewer(s) to evaluate the candidate as well. When you arrive and begin the interview, start by allowing the candidate to introduce himself/herself, and make notes of anything technical they mention that can be used to help develop questioning. Look for specific topics that can facilitate conversation between your technical team members and the candidate.
After introductions, start developing a line of questioning for the team to assess the candidate. Remember that as HR professionals we may not be the technical experts, but our skills and training give us the ability to develop conversation between the candidate and technical team.
Being technically competent should be only part of the interview. It's also important to evaluate soft skills and other nontechnical aspects of a candidate's personality. Asking atypical questions helps obtain insights into what it's like to work with him/her, such as: "What is the biggest misconception people have about you? What are the qualities of a role model you like the most and the least?" Questions like these will allow you and your technical personnel to evaluate the candidate on characteristics aside from technical skills and experience.
Finally, wrap up the interview by asking if there are any questions from the candidate, and allow your technical personnel to answer and interact as much as possible. A good candidate should take the initiative to develop questions for each of the people on the interview panel. Once all candidates have been interviewed, you and your technical team should have a general consensus on the best candidate. If there is any doubt, keep searching.
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